These high school books are on most recommended lists for local and national schools. We will be studying American and British literature this coming year and I would LOVE for all students to have a sampling of the above authors.
How much reading should be monitored by parents and students will be asked to share about their summer reading the first week of school. Parents: Please be aware of your student’s choice of books. Not all books are appropriate for all students!
9th grade
1. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls—This true story reveals the struggles that a young girl and her siblings overcome as they are being raised by addicted and irresponsible parents. Will these kids manage to become successful and fulfill their dreams?
2. How Reading Changed My Life by Anna Quindlen—an award-winning New York Times columnist writes about her life-long love affair with books. She includes her own admittedly "arbitrary and capricious" reading lists such as "The 10 books I would save in a fire," "10 modern novels that made me proud to be a writer," "10 books that will help a teenager feel more human," and various other categories.
3. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot—Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.
4. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury—Set in a grim setting ruled by a tyrannical government in which firemen as we understand them no longer exist: Here, firemen don't douse fires, they ignite them. And they do this specifically in homes that house the most evil of evils: books.
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott—Little Women is about a family of four girls Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy and their various adventures with family, marriage, and children. This book has romance and family conflicts that everyone can relate to.
6. Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells-The horrors of the US Civil War are seen through the eyes of 12 year-old India Moody who lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Family lost and love found; dreams dashed and hope returned, a “can’t put down” read.
7. Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick
8. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams—Join Arthur and Ford as they hitchhike across the galaxy in this adventurous comedy. It’s a quick, easy read and a bundle of laughs.
9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith—a poignant tale of growing up and rising above obstacles.
10. For One More Day by Mitch Albom-For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?
11. Fake ID by Walter Sorrells—After a lifetime of moving and new identities, sixteen-year-old Chass begins to piece together her and her mother's past, which involves a mysterious tape, a deceased singer, and the secrets of several people in a small Alabama town
12. The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt-There are many strands in this story: the Vietnam War, air raid drills, missing soldiers, a classmate who is a Vietnamese refugee, a rescue, extreme humiliation, chalk-covered cream puffs, yellow tights with feathers in all the wrong places and a bully. In fact, so much happens I wondered whether all the seeds Schmidt planted could flower by the end. To his great credit, they do.
13. Alabama Moon by Watt Key-After the death of his father, ten-year-old Moon leaves their forest shelter home and is sent to an Alabama institution, becoming entangled in the outside world he has never known and making good friends, a relentless enemy, and a new life.
14. Hank Aaron and the Homerun that Changed America by Tom Stanton—Chasing the home run record of Babe Ruth also meant chasing the legend of the “Sultan of Swat.” As Hank Aaron came close to that achievement in 1973, not everyone in America was willing to accept that an African-American could overtake Babe Ruth’s homerun performance. How did Aaron succeed?
15. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King—Nine-year-old Trisha who gets helplessly lost in the woods with little chance of survival. The only thing that keeps her going is her portable radio that is broadcasting the Red Sox game, in which her hero, Tom Gordon, is pitching. Will Trisha be saved from the woods, or will ear and the unknown defeat her?
10th —
1. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
In the old, southern, town of Cold Sassy something that has never happened before is going to stir up the town. However, one day everything changes when Mrs. Mattie Lou dies, and Mr, Blackslee decides to get remarried to a young, aspiring designer. This news gets the townspeople gossiping and it becomes a comical mess.
2. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum
If you are looking for a humorous, short read, this is the book for you! All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is an intriguing array of 27 short essays that are imaginative and fun.
3. Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
Any football lover will enjoy this action-packed story about one team’s struggle to win the championship in their last year of high school.
4. Walden by Thoreau
Walden, what is it? Is it a book on nature, a book on ecology, a book on human nature, a description of the struggle between modern civilization and the land that nurtured it, or a critique of mankind? Nature lovers should read this book to decide for themselves what it’s all about.
5. The Haunted Mesa by Louis L’Amour
6. A Gathering of Old Men by Earnest Gaines
7. Lost Horizon by James Hilton
8. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Looking for an action-filled and dynamic book about honor, family, and adventure? This book is about a young pearl diver named Kino. His son Coyotito is stung by a scorpion, but Kino cannot pay the doctor so he will not treat the boy—until he finds a very large pearl. Will Coyotito be saved?
9. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
A classic American drama by an African-American playwright, the play was a radically new representation of black life. "A play that changed American theater forever."—The New York Times.
10. Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
A wonderful story about a girl named Novalee, who is "seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight--and superstitious about sevens.... For most people, sevens were lucky. But not for her." Novalee’s boyfriend abandons her, leaving her at a Wal-mart in an unfamiliar town. How will Novalee manage in a town where she doesn’t know a soul?
11. Silas Marner by George Eliot
12. The Crystal Caveby Mary Stewart
13. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
14. Daisy Miller by Henry James
Henry James is a literary genius and this novella expresses love, innocence, society, and inner turmoil within eighty pages that are saturated with real feeling.
11th
1. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
When Addie Bundren dies, her husband and five children load her coffin on their wagon and embark on a long journey to bury her in the town of Jefferson. As her body rots and the trip takes longer than expected, the dark secrets of this rural Mississippi family unravel. Read this tragic but grotesquely humorous novel about a decaying corpse and the twisted values of the family that takes too long to bury her.
2. A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins
This true story is the adventurous tale of one man’s journey as he crosses the country on foot
3. The Five People You meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Dying in order to save another life, Eddie goes to heaven where he meets five people who show him that his deeds may seem small, but he accomplished many goals in his life. He begins to understand the real meaning behind God’s work in our lives. Read that thought provoking, modern day parable written by the author of Tuesday’s with Morrie.
4. Bleachers by John Grisham
This is a great story for anyone who loves high school football.
5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
This is a dark novel about the nervous breakdown of a college student.
6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Set almost a century ago, The Color Purple follows Celie’s life from her abused childhood through her arranged marriage and difficult self-discoveries. Will Celie ever achieve her lifelong goal of finding her brilliant younger sister, Nettie, from whom she was separated at sixteen?
7. The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou
This book is one in a series of autobiographies by the amazing Maya Angelou.
8. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Alvarez
This books tells the story of a family who immigrates to America from the Dominican Republic.
9. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
This book tells stories of the Vietnam War.
10. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
A graphic novel about the plight of immigrant workers enduring terrible working conditions in the meat packing plants of Chicago in the early 1900s.
11. The House on Mango Street by Cisneros (We read a short excerpt this year from this book)
12. Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
This novel tells the story of Ian, a typical teenage boy. After Ian speaks harshly without thinking to his brother, his life is forever changed. Will Ian ever find forgiveness?
13. Yo! by Julia Alvarez
14. The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty
15. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
16. Who Killed My Daughter? By Lois Duncan
Lois Duncan’s daughter was really murdered. In this nonfiction work, Duncan investigates and reports on the bizarre murder of her own daughter.
12th
1. 1984 by George Orwell
This futuristic novel by George Orwell is an intriguing story about a man who risks his life to find happiness and freedom in a world that is controlled in every aspect. Monitored by telescreens and always watched by the “thought police,” the world in which we live is completely changed. Can this man save himself and the rest of humanity?
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
3. Christy by Catherine Marshall Marshall writes about her mother’s real life experiences teaching in the Smoky Mountains at a missionary school with a fictional twist. Christy is the nineteen-year-old teacher who discovers how different the mountain people really are as she learns that God can use her if she is willing to let Him. Marshall also wrote Julie and A Man Called Peter, along with other inspirational works.
4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is an intriguing tale of one man determined to get his revenge in 19th century Elba. With every turn of the page comes a new, compelling twist to the story that will have you reaching for this book every spare second that you have.
5. Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
6. Dracula by Bram Stoker
7. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
10. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Doyle
11. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
12. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
13. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
14. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
15. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas The Three Musketeers and their newfound ally d’Artagnan defend the honor of the king against the traitorous Cardinal’s forces in this suspenseful novel of adventure, romance, and friendship.
16. The Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien
17. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
18. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott
19. It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It by Robert Fulghum
More humorous essays by the author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
20. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
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